Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1887-05-05
HOW TO SHOOT BIRDS.
you CAN BECOME A MARKsMAN IF
YOU HAVE PATIENCE.

After q GSod Deal of Pointing with
an Empty Gun You May Use Shot
Upon Cans and Glass Balls, Then Try
Game.
While the proprietor Of a Broadway gun
store was watching party Of young men
who were practicing with pistols in sixth
avenue shooting gallery the other night and
discussing shooting in general with frlend,
he was asked II he could tell how man with
but little knowledge Of gun could become
an expert as a wing shot In the HELD he
said:
sIf man knows the butt from the muzzle
he can be told how TO become an expert shot.
This Is a very good time Of the year to begin,
especially on a rainy day when time hangs
heavy. Take the gun TO your room, and,
after making sure that 1t is unloaded, bring it
TO your shoulder and aim at the door knob,
and as the sight covers the mark press the
trigger slowly. 1t is astonishing TO see how
nervous the new beginner is about pressing
the trigger. BE edoes it with jerk invariably,
and jerk destroys the aim. Agun weighing
eight pounds is about right 10 practice with,
and that is a very good weight for all sorts Of
birds except ducks, geese, etc. When you lind
that you can readily get the sight on the door
knob, the keyhole, or on some mark on the
other side Of the street which you can see
through the window, try following the crack
of the door OF the edge Of the door frame from
bottom TO top, pulling the trigger as the sight
reaches the top. This is simple practice, but,
II followed deliberately, it strengthens the
muscles used in handling the gun, and also
trains them to obey the win promptly, but
without nervous haste. Some men will learn
to handle the gun calmly in this kind Of eKer-
else in a day or two, but others require a
month. When was learning kept my gun
leaning against the mantel, and picked It up
and pointed from one object TO another as
often as convenient.
@The next step is TO learn to follow NOV
ing object Aim at the head of a passing
horse, keeping the sight as closely on an ear
as possible, or the head Of the driver II the
horse be attached TO a vehicle, or aim at the
head of pedestrian The sole object Of this
is to strengthen the muscles SO that they will
obey the will Keep the eye so low behind
the butt of the barrels that only the top Of
the sight appears against the object aimed at.
BEGINYER's PRACTICE
sWhen pleasant day comes take your gun
into the fields A trap such as may be had
for from $3.50 TO $40, for throwing glass balls,
should be taken along. A friend TO help with
the trap Is convenient, but not necessary.
But no glass balls will be needed the rstday.
A few old tin cans will serve much better.
Throw these straight up with the trap, point
ing the still empty gun at the cans as they
rise. Press the trigger when the can has
reached its greatest altitude Do this over
and over Then press the trigger as the can
is midway on its trip up or ON its return.
You will find as you do this that you can
usually tell whether you have hit the can or
not, provided you had fired at II. Then set
the trap 50 that 1t will throw the cans first to
one side and then to the other, and then
straight away from you"
"But why work with an empty gunr
because the report and the kick Of the dis
charge OF a loaded gun almost always prove
too much for the nerves Of beginner. The
object of the first practice of beginner
should be TO overcome all nervousness. He
must learn not TO get ratified. Nerves are the
bane Of marksmen. No rule can tell how a
man must practice with an empty gun, but
he must certainly not load the gun until he
feels certain that when he presses the trigger
as he points at the flying mark he would GER
tainly hit It nineteen times out Of twenty If
the gun were loaded. The distance Of the
aspirant from the trap while the gun If han
died unloaded should be about twenty yards.
Then, when ready for the next step, reduce
the distance TO fifteen yards, put the biggest
can on hand on the trap and load the gun.
The cartridges must contain two dTnchms Of
powder and three-quarters OF an ounce of No.
s shot. No. s is the correct all around size Of
shot in upland shooting, and that weight Of
charge will not mako n -kielE-.sf- -AOHSS-
ouence when fired. But don't shoot al the
can the first time 1t is thrown into the air
after the gun is loaded. Follow it as before.
Being nearer to it, you will find it easier to
follow and with this feeling uppermost
throw the can again. Follow it TO its highest
altitude, where the shot is made easiest, and
pull the trigger.
IF YOU SHOULD MISS.
aIf the previous training has been thorough
enough miss is impossible. If you do miss,
go back to the empty gun and follow the can
over and over again until proficiency comes.
Then try the loaded gun again. Try at the
can thrown nearly straight AWAY, after you
have learned to hit It regularly as it goes
vertically up, and then try it as it is thrownto
one side. You will probably miss the first shot
at o can thrown to one side, but il you hold
Just trife ahead Of the next one you will
bring 1t down. Don't be in a hurry to ieave
the tin can for glass balls. The cans cost
nothing, and can be used over and over, shot
holes make no difference. You can easily tell
when you make hit.
"Finally 1t will become such an easy matter
TO hit the can, even at thirty-five yards and
with an increased charge, say three drachms
OF powder and an ounce of shot, that il will
weary you. Then glass balls or clay pigeons
may be taken up. 1t is better to point them
with the empty gun for a while They travel
with much greater speed than tomato can,
and IL you follow them for half of days
practice with an empty gun it will not be
time thrown away. There is but one rule for
the length of time to be devoted to each kind
of practice, and that is TO follow it until alb
solutely confident that you can do the next
thing as readily as what you are already do
ing.
"From clay pigeons the next step is, of
course, to genuine game. No matter how
thorough the previous training has been no
novice can hope to go into the field and bring
game TO tag on the first day. He ought not
to try it. He will get the buck fever at the
first whirr of q quails wing, and by undue
haste and nervousness upset all the good
effects of bis previous training. Take the
empty gun and no cartridges whatever, and
go into the fields. If cartridges are carried
no man can resist the temptation to try them.
There are two things TO be done; one is to
point the gun at every moving bird and
beast that comes within hundred yards; the
other is TO estimate the distance of the game
pointed at.n-New York Sun
Good News for the Britishers.
Two young men left Chicago few weeks